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Decentralizing Data Management Across ESG and Impact Investing: How Blockchain Innovation Can Address the Data Gap – And the Ratings Controversy
ESG and impact investing have gone mainstream, with US $53 trillion – one-third of global assets under management – projected to be classified as ESG investments by 2025. But as Miriam Davidovic at RAZ Finance points out, investors can't direct their capital toward sustainable businesses without reliable data – and there are growing questions about whether current ESG data and ratings practices are capturing real impact. She argues that a decentralized approach to ESG and impact data management is needed, and explores several blockchain-based innovations that empower individuals to provide trustworthy, transparent, anonymous impact data.
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- Investing, Technology
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Women in Rural Rajasthan Plug the Last- Mile Gap Between Consumers and Sellers
Frontier Markets is technologically enabling rural women to use their social network and social capital in the village to book orders
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- Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Salesforce Ventures Launches $100 Million Impact Fund To Invest in Cloud Startups With Social Mission
When Salesforce Ventures launched the first $50 million Impact Fund in 2017, it wanted to invest not only in promising cloud businesses, but startups with a socially positive mission
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- Entrepreneurship, Finance, Investing, Technology
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Viewpoint: The Aid Sector Must Do More to Tackle Its White Supremacy Problem
Racism is embedded in structures and power dynamics, so we should logically conclude that we are not immune
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- Entrepreneurship, Finance, Health Care
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Filling the Funding Gap: Two Innovative Ways to Improve Financing Opportunities for Social Impact Entrepreneurs
Social entrepreneurs often struggle to scale their enterprises because of difficulties accessing tailor-made capital. According to Carola Schwank at Siemens Stiftung's empowering people.Network, this is often due to a clear mismatch in pairing up social entrepreneurs and impact investors. She explores two key solutions to this crucial challenge, featured in Siemens Stiftung's “Innovative Financing for Social Entrepreneurs” report.
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- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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India’s Impact Capital Vacuum – And What to Do About It
Impact investments in India grew by double digits between 2010 and 2016, and are expected to reach US $8 billion by 2025. But the on-the-ground reality is not so rosy. Investors are flocking to financial services and larger-scale companies, while early-stage enterprises and impact sectors such as agriculture, health care and clean energy face a funding gap. While there is no secret sauce for changing this dynamic, Gagandeep Bakshi and Sameer Gaud at Intellecap offer five guiding principles to help social enterprises with successful fundraising.
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- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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Win $9,000 in Tickets to Social Impact Events: Enter SOCAP’s 2018 Impact Passport Giveaway
Whether you are an early-stage social entrepreneur or just exploring the world of social entrepreneurship, conscious business or impact investing, here's an amazing deal for you: SOCAP's 2018 Impact Passport giveaway offers the opportunity to go to several of the premier events in the social impact calendar this year - for free. The winner of the sweepstakes will receive a suite of conference tickets, media consultations and subscriptions with a total value of approximately $9,000.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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Avoiding the ‘Ick Factor’: Four Easy Steps to Align Your Investments With Your Values in 2018
Morgan Simon, the author of "Real Impact: The New Economics of Social Change," lays out four simple steps to avoid what she terms the "ick factor." That's the unpleasant feeling that comes when your social values and financial investments aren't aligned – for instance, when your big-name bank is using your money to invest in things like private prisons and fossil fuels. Simon provides an overview of some strategies and socially responsible institutions that can let you earn attractive returns, while feeling good about the impact you're making with your money.
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